5 year housing land supply

According to the definition in the National Planning Policy Framework and associated guidance, the 5 year land supply is a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide 5 years of housing (and appropriate buffer). This is against a housing requirement set out in adopted strategic policies, or against a local housing need figure, using the standard method.

Medway's 5 year housing land supply as of 31 March 2024 stands at 3.1 years. 

Requirement

Annual requirement as of 31 March 2024 1,594 dwellings
5 year requirement (1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029) 7,970 dwellings
Total requirement (with 20% buffer) 9,564 dwellings (1,913 dwellings per year)

Supply

Large sites (sites with 5 or more dwellings) 5,102 dwellings
Small sites (sites with under 5 dwellings) 272 dwellings
Windfall allowance (281 per year in years 4 and 5) 562 dwellings
Total supply 5,936 dwellings

Results

Years supply (in years) 3.1
Surplus or deficit -3,628 dwellings

Details of the specific sites which make up this land supply and the wider trajectory of delivery over the next 15 years are published in the 2024 Authority Monitoring Report (AMR). However, please note the annual requirement figure is different to what was quoted originally in the 2024 AMR because after it was submitted to Cabinet in December 2024, government updated the standard methodology calculation, changing the requirement as at 31 March 2024 from 1,658 dwellings per annum to 1,594.

The figure will be updated when the 2025 AMR is published in December 2025.